Service Guide

Gifford Erickson - Fine Art Studios

Doug Gifford
D.K. Gifford was born in Evanston, Illinois. He began painting in 1967 at which time he transferred from Bucknell University to The Ringling Art School. After graduating, cumulative awards and commissions led to one-artist shows in New York, Palm Beach, Nantucket, and Naples.
A representational painter of architecture, an early influence was Edward Hopper. Then Gifford’s constructionist concept of space let to his invention of a three dimensional technique called Stereo Schema Realism. It is his alone.
Recently, his focus has evolved toward the built environments of the Caribbean. "West Indian architecture whether colonial or native, is obliged to be both practical and exuberant like the people,” Gifford observes. The applied specifics of verandahs, galleries, louvers, and shutters along with the cultural influences of the English, French, African, Spanish, and Dutch blend exotic images.
This work speaks to us conceptually as well as literally, and teaches us to see what we previously only assimilated.
D.K. Gifford has created his own place in the world of contemporary art, just as he created his own style and technique.

Shari Erickson
Shari lives here in Cashiers. Her acclaimed tropical images are exhibited throughout the Southeast and the Caribbean, but her figurative authority has also served her well in painting the animal world she loves so much. Her uncultured pet portraits are characterized by an assured use of color, an elemental grasp of flesh and form, and a straightforward style that achieves an elegant simplicity.
Contemporary painter Shari Erickson gained early recognition as s figurative muralist in her hometown of Atlanta. After graduating with honors from the Ringling School of Art, she became an accomplished fine art instructor, potter, jewelry designer, and studio painter.
Although she spends much of her time exploring the Caribbean with artist husband Doug Gifford, most of her alkyd-oil, A la Prima studies are completed in her Cashiers studio.
The US Department of State honored Ms. Erickson by inviting her to exhibit in their global ART in Embassies program. The US Department of the interior has also published her art, as has Macmillan, Liat, Camaleu, La Siren and many others.
Shari’s oil images are currently are available throughout The South, The West Indies, her local studio and online at www.islandstudio.com
Commissions are available by calling The Artist at 828-743-5580